Bonding with a Bike as a Boy

Last week we kicked off our Unbreakable Bonds series with a story about a father and his son bonding over motorcycle riding. Today we continue that series with a profile of a brand manager at our fabulous UK distributor, Madison.


Here is Andrew Wagerer in his own words....


When I was a child in Toronto I was given my sisters yellow hand me down to learn how to ride. Then as I got older a garage sale landed me an Orange single speed road bike with a coaster brake that I thought was great. As I outgrew that one, my dad took me to the local department store and we picked out a lovely grey 12 speed with 24 inch wheels. I wasn’t interested in the BMX bikes that were dominating the market those days.

The day it all happened was when I swore at the school bus driver for being unfair. The resulting banishment from the school bus at 12 years old put me on my bike as transportation. It’s funny that the banishment was for only two weeks but I kept riding the bike every day, whatever the weather. I discovered how fun snow can be on a road bike and was hooked, never looked back.

I was saving up now for my first real road bike from a proper bike store; no more pretending. I bought that bike at 13 then added a mountain bike to the collection all from my work packing groceries. Realising that speed on the road and that cars were slow I favoured the road bike. Started to learn mechanics and had some fun with spray paint to see what different coloured bikes looked like.



After a few years, a few thefts - where I learnt how important a lock was - and a few new bikes - where I got my favourite bike, a 1993 Bridgestone RB-2 which I love so much and still use today after 50,000 miles - high school ended and I thought what better way to spend a year off then to be a courier in Toronto and with my savings travel Europe.

After that, I started University and when the first summer came around I hounded my local bike store till they hired me. I studied and worked summers in bikes, moving into the workshop till I was in charge after Uni had finished. I hit a brick wall in the industry and couldn’t move up, so my girl and I decided to move to greener pastures and travelled to London, England where I became a bike store manager and then was hired to be a brand manager for a distributor which is where I am today - looking to the future and not sure where it’ll take me, but I definitely know how I’ll be travelling.

Rumor Patrol - Evolution Mini Stays Put!

We've talked about rumors before. Some make us laugh, some make our eyes roll and some just confound us. This one just astounds me...it was a jaw dropper, actually.

I'm surfing around Bikeforums yesterday afternoon and see that someone heard that the Evolution Mini is being discontinued. What?!

Not true. Not true. Not true.



Yes, the Evolution series 4 is new in the standard and long shackle size, but the Mini is not going anywhere! Holy schmoly. No Mini? Really? That's just silly!

Check out these photos from North American Cycle Courier Championships this past weekend in San Francisco (here, here, here and here). You'll see bits of orange around bikes and in messengers pockets...that's the Evolution Mini. The Mini that isn't going anywhere. The Mini that we love.

Oh, we love it so much, we added another Mini - the KryptoLok Mini. You should be seeing that soon at bike dealers worldwide. Right next to the Evolution Mini. The Evolution Mini that isn't going anywhere. Did I say that already? Got it? Good.

Ta-Da! Evolution series 4

The brand spankin' new Kryptonite locks have left the warehouse, folks. Actually, they should be to most of our distributors by now so you might start seeing them on your local IBD shelves soon. We are very excited here at Kryptonite. There is just so much new, new, new this spring and summer.

Here's a peek of the Evolution series 4 U-lock with its oval crossbar. Snazzy, eh? I'm expecting a few of them in my office this week. Woo-hoo! I know, it's kind of corny to get excited about a lock, right? But, when you see all the work that goes into developing a product and then you see the finished item, it's kinda cool no matter what the product or widget is. Of course, there is always a big sigh of relief, too, when there is a completed, packaged product in front of you.

Now I just need to get a photo of the product in my office instead of the 'beauty shot' here. I'll work on that.

Future NYC Bike Rider

A future bicycle rider if ever there was one

Kevin "Squid" Bolger has been a bike messenger in New York City for 15 years. Pretty much everyone involved with the messenger community knows him. He's also been interviewed countless times on television whenever a strong rider and fun person is needed for a comment on cycling or messengering in NYC. He's married to one fantastic lady and talented photographer, Amy Bolger, and together they are extremely active in the messenger community worldwide.


This weekend they expanded their family and welcomed their son Keiran Wolf Bolger. Hope they don't mind, but I snatched the above photo from Kevin's website.


Bravo, Amy! Congrats and good wishes to the Bolger family from all of your friends at Kryptonite.

3 Day Weekend!

It's just about the weekend here...a long weekend at that. We hope you all have a great weekend filled with all kinds of outdoor, action sports fun!

We've Come a Long Way!

This is a photo of one of our early motorcycle locks. This version started to be developed in 1979 and was one of the locks that started our long-standing partnership with the great Harley Davidson. This lock hit the market in the early 80s. Look how big it is! Wow. But, believe it or not, it was in use until a couple of months ago. Still works like a charm.

Secur-a-Glide, circa early 80s

Father & Son Bond

We want this blog to be a place where people talk about the bonds they have with cycling, motorcycling, skiing, snowmobiling and anything else action sports related. We want to hear from people, in their own words, why they have such a bond to these sports.

Today, we kick off a series of profiles of people and their unbreakable bonds with bikes, motorcycles, ATVs etc. We’ll profile people that work here, partners of ours and people we meet through the blog, at events and out on the road. It will be an ongoing feature here.

In his own words, meet Scott…..

As an accounting manager for Ingersoll Rand, I sit in an office all day so on the weekends I love to be outside as much as I can. For me that’s being on my Yamaha YZ250F along side my 15 year old son, Bryan. Sharing my passion for motocross with him is just a great thing for me.

My love of motorcycles started when I was a kid. I enjoyed them, but my parents didn’t like them at all. If I wanted to do anything with motorcycles I had to pay for it myself. I had to earn money for the motorcycle, parts, racing, for everything. When Christmas would roll around there weren’t any gloves or helmets as presents. I had to get a job and earn everything on my own.

As a kid, I enjoyed the mechanical side, too. I’d like tearing into mechanical devices and figuring out how they worked. I’d buy an old motorcycle and fix it up. The resulting mess was also annoying for my parents.

When I got older I became more responsible. I went to school, got married, had kids and put my love of motocross aside. About 6 or 7 years ago a friend called and wanted me to go to Baja with him on one of these extreme motocross trips. He’s an adrenaline junkie like me. I went with him and decided that this is what life is all about. This is why I work so hard. I went out and bought a motorcycle. There was a local motocross track near my home.

My young son, Bryan, would come and watch me ride at the track. He started to get interested in riding, but his grades were suffering. We made an agreement. If he got all B’s I’d buy him a motorcycle. For 2 years he was known at the track as the kid without a motorcycle. I felt bad, I wanted him to enjoy motorcycling as much as I did, but I held on to our agreement. I wanted to teach him the value of working to achieve a goal.

Bryan

Now that he has the motorcycle, Bryan has to keep his grades up to continue riding. He also has to pay for half of everything – if something breaks, he pays half. He has paid half for his current motorcycle. It took him over a year to save the money for his half. This is my way of sharing my passion with him and instilling some valuable lessons as well.

Riding also allows me to stay in touch with my son in ways that we wouldn’t otherwise. He’s into hockey, too, and there are a group of dads and sons that are into both hockey and riding. Fathers and sons travel to tracks and ride together. Last year a friend let us use his RV, and we took a group trip for 8 days riding different tracks in different states.

Fathers and sons

Riding fuels my passion and helps me bond with my son.

Scott B Seibert
Adrenaline Junkie and Father

Scott and his son Bryan

Road Warrior Powerhouse

What do you get when you combine 60+ years of action sports industry experience with a great product line? A dynamic Kryptonite road team! We are completely tickled to announce our brand new sales team to the world. Ok, so I'm excited, and I think I can speak for everyone else here, too.

One is very familiar to all of our dealers and distributors and to you blog readers – Nadine Fallon-Nassif. She describes herself as a “Jill of all trades”, but I like to think of her as just born into the bicycle industry. She couldn’t help but be a lover of bicycles since, I believe, her dad at one time had 20+ in their house. I’ve got a bad memory – could have even been more; the guess is probably on the low side.

Not only does she love bicycles, she’s had extensive experience in retail, too. She’s grown to love motorcycles and works with us at a lot of the Perewitz Bike Nights and other distributor events.

I don’t remember being at Kryptonite where I didn’t know Nadine either as someone working at one of our dealers or working side by side with her. She’s got great passion for this industry.

We don't have a photo of Nadine right now as she was on the road when the photos were taken - we'll capture her soon and post one up!

Nadine is now being joined by 2 new ‘top guns’ of their respective industries. Craig Glab is our new Central Regional Manager. What a firecracker! He’s spent just about 20 years in the powersports industry and is in the process of building his own custom motorcycle. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it is ready for Sturgis. He can’t wait to start meeting all our dealers, including the bicycle dealers. When he walked in to our home office for the first time last week he was a little timid about the bicycle side, but by the time he left, he was on his way to pick out a bicycle and wanted to talk to me about racing an allycat. Oh boy….

Craig Glab fits right in here at Kryptonite

Don Shipman is our new Western Regional Manager. He is so dialed into the bicycle scene around northern California it’s just wild. He’s been in the industry for about 25 years, too, and even founded Blazing Saddles, a bicycle rental company in northern Cal. He’s pretty excited to start diving into the powersports piece of our business, too. I think he’ll dazzle them with his shear enthusiasm for all things two-wheeled.

Don Shipman at Kryptonite last week

Although you’ll be hearing from all our reps here soon, I think Don may check in more than most. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say. And, San Francisco, you’ll be seeing him at some of the events with bike valet service – he can’t wait to start showing his passion for all things Kryptonite.

When you see this great team on the road, please feel free to stop them, ask questions, welcome them to the Kryptonite Krew.

*photos by Neil McDaid

Bike to Work w/the EPA and Messenger Friends

We had a great time sponsoring DC bike to work day! I met all kinds of folks and we even lucked out with the rain. It was pretty cool to be all set up with the Capitol building over my left shoulder.

We had lots of visitors including several peeps from the EPA!!!! I LOVE their jerseys...so cool! We had free lanyards for riders' keys (which went pretty quick) and reflective stickers for the ride home. Those were a big hit as you can see.

I also got to see some friends that now live in the DC Area. Below is a DC messenger, AJ Grim, with his bike that matches his New York Lock. AJ and I worked (many moons ago) at a shop up here in Boston, it was great to see him and another former co-worker, Matt Hughes. Good luck on the Bar Exam Matt!!!

And on my way home I stopped by my favorite shop in DC, District Hardware on P Street. It is run by two of the nicest people I know in the cycling industry, Neil and Mr. David. If you stop by, please tell them I said hi, as they were both skipping out of work on a Friday!!!

That's all from the road, I am still a little punchy after all that driving, Boston-DC-Boston in 36 hours!
Cheers!
-Nadine

Bike to Work Day in DC

Mayor Adrian Fenty gets things rolling in D.C. this morning.

Although Nadine is traveling back from DC and can't blog right now, she did call in and report back that Bike to Work Day festivities this morning in Washington, DC were "packed"! There was a great turn out. Congrats to WABA and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments!

Kryptonite's new tent surrounded by cyclists. Nadine....are you in there?

Thanks to Douglas Franklin from the Council of Governments for the photos! This is Douglas with a friend at the event this morning.

Bike to Work - Meet Nadine

Tomorrow the Washington Area Bicyclist Association is hosting its annual Bike to Work Day festivities. Kryptonite has been a proud sponsor of this event for years!

Nadine will be down at the event tomorrow morning, bright and early with the Kryptonite tent. Come on out and say 'hi' to one of our blogging gang.

Safe riding.

Free Bikes from Bicycling Magazine

For the 5th year, Bicycling Magazine is giving away bikes to residents of select cities across the United States. It all started with a test market in Portland, Maine five years ago. The magazine wanted to see how people's lives would change if they were given a bicycle to incorporate into their lives. The success was amazing, and a cover story for them that year.

They expanded their 'experiment' the next year and are now giving away 300 bikes in 7 cities across the country.

To be eligible for a free bike you must write them a 50 word essay. All the details can be found on Bicycling's website.

Thanks to our friends at Bicycle Retailer for this great Bike to Work Week story this morning!

LiveStrong Day, 2007

Today is LiveStrong Day. Join the Lance Armstrong Foundation in wearing yellow today. And, for your own good health, get out and enjoy a nice ride on your bicycle - your own little "Tour Day Neighborhood".

Massachusetts Comprehensive Statewide Bicycle Facilities Map

It has taken Massbike and other cycling advocates years to get to the point that they are at now. This is a big step in the right direction for better bicycling in Massachusetts and I am very proud of the hard work put in by Massbike and it's board of directors. I just received this email from the Commonwealth and it made my Monday a little brighter!

Text from the email:

"In recognition of Bike Week, the Massachusetts Bicycle Plan Update Project Team has completed development of an inventory and map of known existing and proposed bicycle facilities in the state.

The map identifies off-road shared use paths as well as on-road bicycle lanes and bicycle routes.

Off-road facilities include paved paths as well as unpaved paths. Unpaved paths are categorized as either existing (improved with a stabilized surface), or unimproved (with a surface currently useable only by mountain bikes or hikers).

On-road facilities include striped bicycle lanes as well as local and long distance bicycle routes. Most of the local routes shown on the map have been designated by the municipality in which they are located. Some represent short links that connect trail sections. Long distance routes include the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway from Boston to Provincetown and Falmouth, Adventure Cycling’s Atlantic Coast Route, and the East Coast Greenway.

Map Features
The facilities map was created in GIS and formatted for download in PDF format. The map is formatted with selectable layers, which enables you to turn the layers on and off. For example, you can display only existing facilities, or only off-road facilities. When you print the map, it shows only the layers that you have selected. Note that the map is formatted at 50" x 36", so it is best viewed by using the zoom feature in Acrobat. To view and select layers, click on the layer tab or icon on the left side of the screen.

You can download the map from our project website [...] directly under "What’s New" at MassBikePlan.

Note that the map size is 11MB and will take a few minutes to download.

In about a week, we plan to provide the first draft map of the proposed routes and links that comprise a planned network. The bicycle network will eventually connect and serve major population centers, transit stations, activity centers, and tourist locations."

Cheers!
-Nadine

Redbones Annual Bike Party & Benefit

If you are in the Boston area tonight and want to ride your bike to a great event (weather is beautiful here!), check out Redbones Annual Bike Party & Benefit. The money they raise is split between MassBike and the New England Mountain Bike Association. Both great cycling organizations that can use all the support they can get.

There is going to be great food, raffles (might get yourself a good Kryptonite lock), live music and, of course, free bike valet, as always.

This is a great way to kick of Bike to Work Week!

Thanks to a Certain Woman For Creating Hundreds of Unbreakable Bonds Between Kids and Their Bikes.

In an earlier blog post, Donna attempted to tease me into writing a few words, knowing that I have much to say, but usually keep it to myself. I'll use the upcoming Mother's Day holiday as a thematic reason to come out of my shell and recognize a certain woman's drive to create unbreakable bonds between kids and their bikes, and is making the world a better place for it. She may not be "MOM" to all these kids, but she is a hero to most, for sure. (I must admit she's my hero). Marilyn Price is someone the bicycling community knows well and claims as a friend. She has been instrumental in helping countless kids learn a lot about bicycling, adventure, social responsibility and themselves. For many of us, having adventures on our bikes was nothing unusual. For still too many kids today, having an adventure on a bike, would be nothing short of a miracle, if it weren't for the hard work of Marilyn and many other unnamed folks. If you don't know if her work yet, check out Trips for Kids today.

Not your average customer

Today we had a little vistor in our backyard. It seemed that a turtle had taken a wrong turn into our driveway and appeared lost so we contacted animal control to help our little friend back to the pond out of harms way. It seems our turtle friend was not lost at all. We learned that turtles go back to where they were hatched to lay eggs so this poor turtle made her way up a steep hill to go lay her eggs on the side of our building. We also learned from animal control that she will lay these eggs and bury them and in 10 days they will hatch and find there way to the pond on their own.

I wonder if she was stopping by to get a Kryptonite lock so nobody will mess with her eggs!

Melissa McPherson

(Photos Eric Anastasia)

Takin' Dad's ATV for a Spin

One of our Action Sports product managers is raising the next generation of ATV riders! Check it out!

Hello New York City!

Anyone in New York City seeing a little more Kryptonite these days? We know the folks in the Five Boros Bike Tour may have...looks like they had a great day for the ride!

Let us know if you are seeing a little more Kryptonite in your urban area. Post a comment. Send an email with a photo - we can't wait to see them. donna_tocci at irco.com

Thanks Rapid Transit!

We’ve got some of the best dealers in the world. We really do. They are knowledgeable, passionate and down right fun. Rapid Transit Cycleshop in Chicago is one of those dealers. They’ve carried Kryptonite for years and our reps love visiting their store when they are in town.

They’ve recently written a kick butt post on their blog about avoiding bike theft. This is a great service for all their customers and internet readers. Not only do they talk about great locks, but they give terrific proper lock up advice. Read it. You will be glad you did!

And...if you check out their blog further, you'll see that they are offering a coupon for 10% off a u-lock, u-lock w/cable or u-lock and skewer set. No brand is specified so go get your favorite - just get a lock! If you live in the area, print the coupon and bring it in. It's valid until Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Thanks for the plug, Rapid Transit, but more importantly, thanks for giving your customers such great proper lock up advice!

Rumor Patrol

We hear lots of rumors as we are out and about on the road and cruising through the internet. Some make us just laugh out loud, shake our head or roll our eyes. Others we take a little more seriously. Over the last couple of months, we’ve noticed that one particular video on YouTube has been getting conversations going about security chains.

Recently, our friend Fritz, asked us if we’d seen the video yet and added his comments to a blog that posted the video. Since you asked, we’ll be more than happy to address this, Fritz!

Yes, we have seen the video of a competitor breaking security chains. It’s one that doesn’t have us laughing out loud, but it does have us rolling our eyes a little bit. Listen to the woman as she introduces the last two chains, of which the supposed New York Fahgettaboudit is one. She plainly states that the last two chains “aren’t brand new. They were kindly donated by Visadown users.” (I may have that name wrong)

The Kryptonite ‘lock’ does not have a lock on it at all. It’s a length of chain in a Kryptonite sleeve that even the women from our competitor can not say is a length of Kryptonite chain because she didn’t purchase it from a dealer. However, that’s neither here nor there - when the gentleman shows the link after he’s cut it, check it out, pause the video like we did (7:07 into the video). It doesn’t look like a 6-sided Fahgettaboudit link, more like a 4-sided link. Hmmm…if that’s not right, what else isn’t right with that video?

We are much more apt to trust truly non-biased testers who have honest to goodness Kryptonite products to test, like Cycling Plus. We also submit our products to test with independent testing agencies like Sold Secure, ART and a host of others. They aren’t competitors, testing is what they do for insurance companies. They are unbiased parties testing the products for a living. They are good at it, just like the guys at Cycling Plus.

Perewitz Open House

Saturday was a nice, spring day here in Massachusetts. A little chilly and a little cloudy, but the sun did break through during the day so it was a nice day for a ride. Hundreds of motorcyclists took advantage of the early season good weather and headed down to Perewitz Cycle Fabrication to join in the fun and festivities at their Open House. As I mentioned, part of the Kryptonite crew was there, too.

There were free hotdogs, sodas and bags of popcorn, music, airbrush tattoos, prizes tossed from the roof, raffles, doggies and lots and lots of motorcycles of every variety parked in front of the store. For those that came out, it was a great day.

Kryptonite raffled off one of Dave Perewitz's custom painted trashcans with all of the money going to the National MS Society (a charity near and dear to the Perewitz family). The can was won by Jack M. who was one of their first service customers when they moved to this building. But, on this day he didn't arrive on his motorcycle, he arrived with his friend and kids on their bicycles! We see that often, actually - the crossover with motorcycles and bicycles.

It was a fun day at the Perewitz kick off to the summer riding season. Here are some photos taken during the day. Enjoy!

Motorcycles were everywhere....

Every make and model you could think of.....

Being a family affair there were lots of kids on bicycles, too, including these next to the burnout pad...

Airbrush tattoos were a huge hit. Here some young, future riders show off their love of motorcycles. Even the Perewitz clan had some fun with the temporary tattoos.

And the winner is....Jack M! Congrats!

Kryptonite's Tim Clifford with Jack, kids and their new treasure. Shortly afterwards, Jack jumped on his other two wheels and took his prize home.

Out & About This Weekend

It's Motorcycle Awareness Month and Kryptonite is supporting a couple of motorcycle related events this weekend. If you live near Concord, North Carolina and want to participate in a great charity event, check out the 3rd Annual Hendrick Charity Ride on Sunday. Motorcycle riders have raised over $130,000 the last two years for charity. This year they are expecting many more than last year's 2,500 participants and will raise tens of thousands of dollars for the Levine Children's Hospital.

This year the event will end at Lowe's Motor Speedway with a BBQ, music, rides by the Richard Petty Driving Experience, Rick Hendrick himself will be there and raffles to give away race tickets, sheet metal from race cars and, of course, Kryptonite locks. Since the NASCAR race is only in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday night, you never know what race driver or crew chief might just show up and ride, too.

As much as I'd like to be in NC for that event, I can't be in two places on the same weekend. I'm happy to be right here in New England this weekend. The Kryptonite team will be in Bridgewater, MA at the Perewitz Open House on Saturday. There will be food, music, activities for the kids, dogs, lock give aways, prizes tossed from the roof (but not the locks!),

and lots and lots of gorgeous motorcycles like this one, of course!

Come on out and join this motley crew....

The Kryptonite team will be there in full force and we'll be raffling off something pretty sweet for charity...not going to tell you what it is, but you'll want one....really, you will.

If you aren't in the area and can't make it, check this space later in the weekend for all kinds of photos from the Open House.

Cycling Plus Recommends Kryptonite Locks

Although the May issue of Cycling Plus Magazine hasn’t hit my mailbox yet, I have seen a sneak peek of what everyone in the UK has already seen – the results of their annual lock test – thanks to a scanned PDF from a colleague across the Pond.

Each year the guys at C+ do a very thorough lock test with all the popular brands represented. They are master testers and have provided us with some great feedback over the years (thanks, guys!). They do such great testing that their ‘Recommended Buy’ ratings are highly coveted in the industry.

I’m bouncing in my chair like a 5 year old at Christmas because of the results. Bouncing. Bouncing. Bouncing!

When asked, we submitted two locks to the C+ test. In the chain category we went with the New York Fahgettaboudit chain and kept it all in the family for the U-locks, submitting the New York Fahgettaboudit U-lock. The magazine recommends both of these locks!
I’m bouncing…really.

They test the locks two different times. The first they use “an extending bar for leverage to twist locks, a hammer, pliers, mole grips, wire cutters, chisel and the trusty axe. This year we’ve added large bolt croppers. The locks are subjected to a maximum of five minutes abuse in test one.”

The second test is where they go at the locks with a barrage of power tools. I think they do this more for their enjoyment than anything since they do say, “When reading through this test remember that Test 1 is the more important test; the Test 2 is used only by professional thieves.”

So….how did they do in the tests?

The chain passed test 1 with flying colors and with all the power tools it lasted 1 minute 19.6 seconds. The next closest chain lasted 1 minute 18.8 seconds and then it dropped off dramatically from there with the third best lasting 52 seconds. Now 1 minute 19.6 seconds doesn’t seem all that long does it? But, remember that’s with sparks flying…and lots of noise….“the noise and commotion this created would draw a crowd unless you’re silly enough to park your bike in a cave”. Thieves do not like to draw attention to themselves, it is detrimental to them staying out of jail.

The U-lock went through a similar test. It passed the first battery of tests without breaking a sweat, and in the second with the power tools? 2 minutes and 59.5 seconds. (in my best carnival voice)… “We have a winnah, folks”! The next closest was 2:34 and then the drop off to only 30 seconds! Woa….

What did they say about our ‘little baby’? “The Fahgettaboudit Mini is the stiffest, toughest lock we’ve ever put to the sword…At one point we used our 4.5ft lever in the shackle and two people (25+st) hung off the bar and it still didn’t budge.” Yes, they mention that it is a little more expensive than the rest of the bunch, but your bicycle will be there when you get back. Me thinks it might be worth a few extra dollars/pounds. But that’s just me.

It’s spring here in New England (64 degrees and sunny) and we just put the C+ guys to a full workout. It’s a good day….

Welcome Urban Cyclist Readers!

Hello to all of you Urban Cyclist readers! We are glad you’ve come by and hope you return often. Feel free to join the conversation anytime. Let us know what is on your mind; we welcome it.

For those of you who don’t know, Urban Cyclist is a brand new magazine “dedicated to bicyclists in cities around the globe. From alleycat racing and commuter culture, to bicycle-advocacy and “how-to” articles, our mission is to serve, reflect and promote the urban cycling lifestyle.”

The first issue is chock full of good stuff – fun profiles of riders including Singletrack editor Chipps Chippendale, a great piece on the Kryptonite supported Stuperbowl messenger race from this winter (hint, Minneapolis in winter; it’s cold!) and, of course, my favorite piece, an article with great advice on how to lock up your bike!

So, who is behind Urban Cyclist? Jeff Guerrero and Brad Quartuccio formerly of Dirt Rag Magazine. We go way back with both of them, they are great guys and know their cycling. Check out the magazine (it’s a free download!) and then let them know what you think!

Good job, guys. I look forward to the second issue.

Bob Roll, “The List” & Every Day Bike Riding

Monday afternoon my Google alerts started to go a little crazy. Ping. Ding. Ping. Ping went the email notification on my computer. What was up? Well, all kinds of craziness in pro cycling that you’ve all seen by now. Ivan Basso and Discovery part ways. Operacion Puerto is raising its ugly head again. Tour directors allegedly decided that anyone on “the list” cannot compete. What? What? And What? I feel like a little déjà vu and I’m not talking about Denzel’s movie out on DVD. And, today, I see that there is talk of suing any rider on the Operation Puerto list to get DNA samples.

As a fan of pro cycling, I am just frustrated. I want to be excited about the Giro and Le Tour and all the others. But, this is just another straw in this camel's back. I want a clean sport, very clean....but this is all a little much, in my little opinion. Now, I know my friend Joe is going to be disappointed because I'm not listening to all the facts, but I'm a fan and I don't do all the research, like most fans. I'm just frustrated. I want to enjoy the pro side of the sport we all love, but I'm feeling a little discouraged by it right now.

So, what do I do? Call Bob Roll and talk with him about all of this. Ok, actually I just ranted at him; he’s so kind and nice that he let me do it while he’s running some errands on a beautiful spring day. His theory on the whole mess?

“It’s impossible to make sense out of it all.
The sooner they figure it all out the better.
Maybe we are on the list. You and me.” - Bobke

Basically, that makes as much scientific sense to me about all of this as anything else right about now. So, I decided something right then and there. Although I don’t do it enough, I love riding my bike. I’m not on anyone’s list (although thanks for the thought, Bob!) and I’m good with that. I’m not on the OP list, I’m not on any team list and I certainly wouldn’t be on anyone’s list that was thinking of putting together a long ride.

Me? I just do my own ‘tour’ by riding my bike around my neighborhood and see how people are coming with their yards this spring, see who has the best flowers early in the season and wave at some fellow bike riders. I’m not going to worry about what’s going on in pro cycling because it is frustrating and gets me discouraged about the racing aspect of cycling. I'm not a racer so I’m going to do my own thing - Bike riding for the every day person. It’s very enjoyable and why we all started to ride in the first place (at least most of us, anyway).

I’d encourage everyone to go out and ‘tour’ your own neighborhoods this spring and remember why we love riding our bikes so much. It will be a global Tour de Neighborhood. That's what I'm going to do.

Tony Stewart's Perewitz Motorcycle

NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart (aka Smoke) likes pretty much anything that goes fast from dirt tracks to super speedways. He's recently added a brand new motorcycle to his collection that probably fits into that category, too. Not just any motorcycle....a custom Perewitz motorcycle.

Thanks to our close relationship with the Perewitz team, we were able to get some photos of the new creation. By all accounts, Tony loves the bike. We can see why!

Motorcycle Awareness Month

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Please be careful and always look for motorcyclists, and cyclists of course, when driving. All the time, but especially in the summer months.

It's nice to see, in Massachusetts, that there are signs, like the one above, around and that the registry of motor vehicles is placing the same slogan on their envelopes this month. In Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt endorsed Motorcycle Awareness Month last week.

Enjoy the good weather for some great summer riding adventures.

We wish you safe journeys!

Congrats to A&F Pro Development Team

A belated congratulations to Mark Hekman, Abercrombie & Fitch Team, for winning the Athens Twilight Criterium this past weekend. If you haven't heard all about it, Masiguy is shouting it from the rooftops. Why? Because they ride Masis, of course. And, because he's been caught up in the pure excitement of the win for this young team. It's nice to see in this day and age of doom and gloom in the pro cycling ranks.

Thank you, one and all, for the ray of sunshine guys! Keep up the good work.

Kryptonite and Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill of America is a non profit organization focused on providing cultural enrichment and financial support to children and teens. I spent the morning of April 28th walking for charity for this organization in downtown Indianapolis. The proceeds of the event go the the Jack and Jill foundation which focuses on preparing children to be leaders in all walks of life. More than a few of the 250 or so participants ran, biked or walked the 4 mile course. I had the pleasure of walking with my 2 girls. The oldest, who is seven, tired of my company pretty quickly and ran along to walk with friends but my youngest, who is 3, stuck with me and walked over half the course. All and all it was a fantastic event and I'm glad I participated. Enjoy the picture of some of the event organizers and kids who participated.